12 Key West bars and restaurants that have great happy hour deals

All that relaxing in Key West can make you really thirsty -- for happy hour deals. Miami Herald Archives

All that relaxing in Key West can make you really thirsty -- for happy hour deals. Miami Herald Archives

Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett famously sang that it’s 5 o’clock somewhere so pour them a drink. In Key West, happy hours - that time of the day when specials on drinks and food prevail - don’t always take place in the evening.

From super casual watering holes and seaside bars to elegant dining spots, happy hours rule in the Southernmost City. So belly up to the bar, catch the sunset and raise a glass to these discounted specials.

Here’s a list of Key West spots that offer cheap drinks and eats during their own versions of “Happy Hour.”

This place is home to cocktails named the Samurai, I Pity a Fool, and the Elegantly Disheveled. They have a daily happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. where you roll a die to see what you’ll pay. Fours, fives and sixes mean full price but if you roll smaller you could be drinking for $1, $2 or half price of any drink under $20.

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From 4 to 6 p.m. daily you can get house made beers and glasses of wine, including pinot grigio, chardonnay, cabernet and malbec, for $5 a glass and half off selected cocktails. Their happy hour menu consists of $5 plates of beef brisket mac and cheese, tuna poke wontons and “devil eggs,” that feature fried jalapeños.

This place proclaims its happy hour the best in Key West. For starters, it runs from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The drink specials? Try 2-for-1 draft beers, cocktails, wine and well drinks, or $2 off Jameson-made frozen Irish coffees or straight-up $5 glasses of Jameson whiskey. From 3 to 6 p.m., get $5 comfort foods like a classic grilled cheese, “Jonci’s Fried Mushrooms,” or cheesy tater tots.

Locals call it the “Conch Farm,” and it has seaport views along with outdoor seating and a chummy social scene. They’ll sell you 2-for-1 beers of all kinds - domestic, imports and craft - or 2-for-1 house wines or 2-for-1 premium well drinks daily from 4 to 7 p.m. But happy hour is served at the bar or on the patio only.

This colorful spot with outdoor dining and drinking in Key West’s historic Bahama Village is just a short walk from Duval Street. Live music is a staple of the business. Happy hour is from 4 to 7 p.m. daily and features $3 bottle beers, $3 well drinks, $3 wines and half off appetizers.

The Thirsty Mermaid focuses as much on food as they do on drink specials. From 4 to 6 daily, enjoy $2 pints of their private label Mermaid Lager and $5 plates of a half dozen Apalachicola oysters, the ceviche du jour and mac and cheese croquettes.

This eatery offers hearty cooking like a “Thanksgiving sandwich,” baked oysters, burgers and a steak “smothered in pork chops,” but also indulges in a happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. daily with $6 fresh-squeezed margaritas, half off oysters and $1.50 Yuengling brews, along with other discounted wines, well drinks and select domestic bottles.

This place at the Historic Key West Seaport has a happy hour from 4:30 to 6:30 daily with half off all well drinks, beer and house wines, along with oysters by the dozen for $10 and beer-steamed shrimp by the pound for $17.50.

On the wilder side, the New Orleans-themed club Bourbon Street Pub is known for its outdoor pool area - which has a Saturday clothing optional parties for all genders - drag shows and many theme nights. They don’t have a happy hour per se, but on Friday nights, it’s where the locals hide from the tourists for the “Bourbon Tea.” All are welcome on Fridays from 5 to 8 p.m. for DJ Rude Girl’s spinning and $6 Stoli drinks. They also have a ladies night every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to midnight and after 8 p.m., women get $ well drinks and beer and wine.

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Located at the Key West Marriott Beachside hotel, this is a locals’ favorite with, count ‘em, three happy hours daily. A breakfast happy hour starts the day from 8 to 11 a.m. daily with 2-for-1 bloody mars, mimosas and screwdrivers. From 5 to 7 p.m. and 9 to 11 p.m., you may partake of 2-for-1 drink specials.

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.